Orleans Improvement Association helps fund Theresa's Way

Thursday

ORLEANS -- In 1986, one of the first projects the Orleans Improvement Association funded was Parish Park on Main Street and they have helped to maintain it ever since.

“It’s part of our legacy,” said Pat Perry, president of the non-profit.

Thirty years later the OIA is continuing that work by helping to create a pretty path to that relaxing oasis of greenery downtown. Earlier this month selectmen heard from town staff that the OIA board voted a $51,450 gift to fully fund the second phase of the town’s Theresa’s Way project. It’s the organization’s biggest gift in its history.

“We felt this was a key opportunity to enhance the center of downtown,” said Perry reached after the meeting. “We believe completion of the project will enhance our downtown’s aesthetics and encourage pedestrian activity to adjacent shopping and attractions.”

The funds will be allocated to remove the existing deteriorated asphalt, install a new granite-curbed walkway adjacent to Parish Park and the Old Fire House, install a 1,000-gallon drainage pit, and put in various plantings. In addition, Wilkinson Ecological will donate a rain garden.

"The OIA is really one of the unsung heroes in Orleans. They do so many projects on their own that make Orleans an appealing place to be; some of them are new additions, some of them are maintenance of existing installments. Yet the OIA still finds a way to help with town projects or quasi-town projects that are difficult to fund,” said Selectman Sims McGrath. “This project has been challenged by the public/private real estate ownership in that vicinity, and in an era of fiscal conservancy it doesn't seem to rise to a "have-to -have" for some voters. The OIA has a talent for identifying these projects that need another supporter and stepping in with the talent and generosity that is becoming their hallmark."

The project is years in the making and a number of non-profits, including the Orleans Community Partnership, have partnered with the town, which owns much of the land, to take steps to revitilize the downtown area.

The Old Firehouse Design Team, consisting of architects Joy Cuming, Peter Haig and John Kelsey, provided the design work and project management and has contributed over $75,000 in pro bono hours to date. Ponderosa Landscaping will do the project’s installation work and has pledged over $5,000 for ongoing maintenance.

Cuming has said the area is full of potential to become a destination in its own right.

The first phase of Theresa’s Way, named after H.C. Cummings' wife who was also the daughter of a sea captain, was completed in 2014. That work included the installation of a sidewalk connecting Cove Road to the parking area behind Parish Park, as well as lighting and plantings. The Theresa Way project, approved by the Orleans Board of Selectmen, is a component of the Orleans Village Center Streetscape Plan that includes conceptual design for many downtown areas.

Perry said the project fits in with the OIA’s mission to preserve and enhance the physical character of Orleans and the group has invested more than $300,00 so far in the town of Orleans.

The work is expected to start late spring and be completed by the summer.